[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 737 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 737
Designating August 10, 2022, as ``Toxic Exposure Awareness Day''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 2, 2022
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Mr. Rounds) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
September 7, 2022
Committee discharged; considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Designating August 10, 2022, as ``Toxic Exposure Awareness Day''.
Whereas, during the Vietnam War, the United States sprayed between 11,000,000
and 12,000,000 gallons of Agent Orange, potentially exposing millions of
members of the Armed Forces stationed in Vietnam and elsewhere to this
toxic mixture of herbicides;
Whereas, after the Vietnam War, it took the United States Government years to
recognize the link between Agent Orange and the health conditions being
experienced by thousands of returning members of the Armed Forces;
Whereas the Agent Orange Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-4; 38 U.S.C. 1116 note),
provided Vietnam veterans with a presumption of service connection for
diseases associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents;
Whereas members of the Armed Forces have been exposed to toxic substances while
serving at home, including at Camp Lejeune, where as many as 1,000,000
members of the Armed Forces, family members, and staff may have been
exposed to drinking water containing contaminants that have been linked
to adverse health effects;
Whereas members of the Armed Forces have been exposed to toxic radiation while
engaged in cleanup operations, including in--
(1) the Republic of the Marshall Islands;
(2) Thule, Greenland; and
(3) Palomares, Spain;
Whereas, from 1985 to 2001, at Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Atsugi, Japan,
personnel and family members of members of the Armed Forces, including
dependent children, may have been exposed to environmental contaminants
from off-base waste incinerators;
Whereas the Armed Forces used burn pits in Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United
Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain during Operation Desert Shield
and Operation Desert Storm;
Whereas more than 250 burn pits were used during military operations in Iraq,
Afghanistan, and Djibouti after September 11, 2001;
Whereas veterans encountered hazardous exposures while serving at the Karshi-
Khanabad Air Base, commonly known as K2, in Uzbekistan from 2001 to
2005;
Whereas there were no regulations restricting what the Armed Forces could burn
in burn pits until 2009;
Whereas the open air burn pits used by the Armed Forces in many overseas
operations may have exposed members of the Armed Forces to a variety of
potentially harmful substances;
Whereas the Department of Defense estimates that approximately 3,500,000 members
of the Armed Forces, who served in the Southwest Asia theater of
military operations after August 2, 1990, or in Afghanistan after
September 11, 2001, may have been exposed to airborne hazards;
Whereas an Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America survey found that 86 percent
of post-9/11 veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan say they were
exposed to burn pits or airborne toxic materials;
Whereas hundreds of thousands of members of the Armed Forces and other personnel
who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Saudi Araibia, Djibouti, Qatar,
Bahrain, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and certain sea locations have
signed up for a burn pit registry created in 2014 by the Department of
Veterans Affairs for veterans to register health problems associated
with exposure to burn pits; and
Whereas designating August 10, 2022, as ``Toxic Exposure Awareness Day'' would
be an appropriate way to honor the members of the Armed Forces who were
exposed to toxic substances while serving in defense of the United
States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) designates August 10, 2022, as ``Toxic Exposure
Awareness Day'';
(2) honors and recognizes the contributions of the members
of the Armed Forces and veterans who were exposed to toxic
substances;
(3) encourages States and local governments to designate
August 10, 2022, as ``Toxic Exposure Awareness Day'';
(4) encourages the Department of Veterans Affairs (referred
to in this resolution as ``VA'') to conduct additional outreach
and promote awareness of the resources that the VA offers for
those to exposed to toxic substances, including--
(A) offering no-cost health screenings;
(B) registering for the VA Airborne Hazards and
Open Burn Pit Registry;
(C) providing information on the Electronic Health
Record (commonly known as ``EHR'');
(D) reviewing the VA insurance and benefits,
including review of disability claims;
(E) connecting with County Veteran Service
Officers; and
(F) promoting awareness campaigns;
(5) encourages veterans to use the available resources at
the VA and Veteran Service Organizations (referred to in this
resolution as ``VSOs'');
(6) encourages VSOs to continue outreach efforts to connect
veterans with available health resources, from both VSOs and
the United States Government;
(7) promotes continued medical research regarding burn pit
exposure risks, whether through the Airborne Hazards and Burn
Pits Center of Excellence or other partnership programming with
the VA or the United States Government;
(8) encourages the people of the United States to observe
Toxic Exposure Awareness Day, whether by familiarizing
themselves with resources available to all veterans or thanking
members of the Armed Forces for their sacrifice; and
(9) demonstrates the resolve that the people of the United
States shall never forget the sacrifices and service of the
generations of veterans who served in the Armed Forces at home
and around the world.
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